cannabisnews.com: The War On Marijuana is Expensive
The War On Marijuana is Expensive
Posted by CN Staff on September 22, 2006 at 06:10:46 PT
By Dave Peyton
Source: Charleston Daily Mail
West Virginia -- It's times like these that I wish I had been alive when prohibition was coming to an end in America. I'd like to know if the folks who believed that the attempt to eradicate alcohol in America was not working were labeled immoral drunks. After all, those of us who believe marijuana prohibition isn't working are labeled "potheads" or worse. No matter what they think, the war on marijuana isn't working. It's costing billions and it's giving criminal records to thousands of people who don't deserve it.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report for 2005 was released earlier this week and it shows that police arrested an estimated 786,545 persons for marijuana violations. The total is the highest ever recorded by the FBI and is about 42 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. Of all those charged with marijuana violations, about 88 per cent were charged with possession only. The rest were charged with "sale/manufacture," which includes cultivation of the plant for personal or medical use. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, noted that the number of marijuana arrests for the United States in 2005 far exceeded the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. What's just as troubling, St. Pierre said, is that marijuana arrests have more than doubled since the early 1990s. Admittedly, many of those arrested never spent a day in jail. But the criminal record follows most of them through their lives. St. Pierre would like to know why America doesn't "tax and regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol or tobacco." So would I. And so would millions of Americans who smoke the weed, many on a regular basis, but do it in secret and keep their opinions to themselves lest they suffer the stigma of being called a "pothead." In case it matters, and whether or not you believe me, I haven't smoked marijuana in years, although I know people who do. And frankly, they are much friendlier and seemingly better adjusted than people who drink to excess. Years ago, when I brought up this issue in a column for the Huntington newspaper, I heard from a probation officer who agreed with me. He said he saw scores of folks who were placed on probation for possession of marijuana.They were normal hard-working people who didn't need to make weekly visits to his office. It complicated their lives and clogged his calendar, preventing him from spending more quality time with people who had committed serious crimes and needed his help. But he wasn't ready to go public with his belief that marijuana should be decriminalized. If he did, he'd be labeled a "pothead" himself. St. Pierre claims that enforcing the marijuana prohibition "costs taxpayers between $10 billion and $12 billion annually and has led to the arrest of 18 million Americans." Every time I see those helicopters circling overhead in late summer looking for pot patches, I can believe the high cost of marijuana control and eradication. Taxing and regulating cannabis won't solve all the problems associated with marijuana use. But prohibition isn't working at all, just as alcohol prohibition didn't work. And I suspect the 94 million Americans who acknowledge using marijuana (and the millions more who use it and don't admit to it) would gladly submit to the taxes and the regulations rather than feel like common criminals every time they light up. Marijuana Arrests For Year 2005 -- 786,545 Tops Record: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7040Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV)Author: Dave Peyton, CommentaryPublished: Friday, September 22, 2006Copyright: 2006 Charleston Daily MailContact: editor dailymail.comWebsite: http://www.dailymail.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #4 posted by Hope on September 23, 2006 at 10:24:29 PT
Thanks, JSM
I was wondering about this paper. What kind it is. What it's circulation is.We need the underground papers and the free rags. They have generally been more open about the faults of the War on Drugs than the mainstream papers. Every bit helps, but it's a relief when you start seeing the truth in the mainstream papers.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on September 23, 2006 at 06:06:53 PT:
PRO-HI-BI-TION! PRO-HI-BI-TION!
They've finally gotten it. More and more, the media has made the (painfully obvious, to its victims) connections between prohibitions past and present...and their unavoidable doom as failures. And they are making that connection because of sites like this...and I would daresay, mainly because of this site. Salutations in absentia, Mr. Peyton.If you haven't been here before, you soon will be...as a lot of your colleagues have but don't want to admit.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by JSM on September 23, 2006 at 04:09:20 PT
Charleston Daily Mail
For the record, this is a Republican newspaper in a very conservative state.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by Hope on September 22, 2006 at 20:58:00 PT
This
is an excellent article.Dave Peyton seems to think and write logically.
[ Post Comment ]
Post Comment